Cleveland Browns Have A Small Win To Take Away From The Embarrassing

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 16, 2025, 11:14 AM

cleveland browns have a small win to take away from the embarrassing

Cleveland Browns vs. New York Jets, November 9, 2025 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New play caller in Tommy Rees, same result for the Browns en route to their 13th straight loss on the road. But not because their offense was completely inept again and couldn’t score. No, it was a new problem that reared its ugly head in the Browns 27-20 loss to the Jets, who were 1-7 heading into the game and had just traded away their two best...

Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com's Browns reporters. Mary Kay Cabot has more than 30 years experience covering the Cleveland Browns for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, and became only the second female in Pro Football Hall of Fame history to win... more The Cleveland Browns' 2025 season has brought what feels like several new low points for the Kevin Stefanski-Andrew Berry era, but losing to a 1-7 New York Jets team that just this week traded... Jets quarterback Justin Fields attempted just 11 passes. He completed only six of those, for a total of 54 yards, 42 of which came on a screen-pass-turned-touchdown from running back Breece Hall.

Because Fields was sacked three times for twelve yards, the Jets gained a net of zero passing yards outside of that one play. The Browns lost the game. The Browns are now 2-7 on the season. Their rookie starting quarterback continues to struggle mightily, along with the rest of the offense. The vibes are bad in Cleveland. Let's take a look at how Browns fans are reacting to Sunday's brutal loss.

The unsettled situation at quarterback has been a central storyline for the Browns for the better part of the last year, and ten weeks into the season, there are still just as many questions... Dillon Gabriel has struggled, and Shedeur Sanders' time to shine is likely approaching quickly. Plenty of Browns fans, though, already have their eyes on the signal-callers who are eligible for the upcoming draft. An ESPN poll of NFL scouts and executives released on Saturday revealed that Indiana's Fernando Mendoza is widely viewed as the top quarterback prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. More embarrassing play from the Cleveland Browns. Heading into the game, I asked why I had a degree of blind confidence in the Cleveland Browns.

I knew the Browns’ defense would be able to stop Justin Fields with ease, and I thought surely, they’d get enough offensive scores to win. What I didn’t go into the game thinking was, “Oh, what if the Browns allow two special teams touchdowns in the first quarter?” Even with that, it was tied at the half, and then... It’s time for a change at quarterback for the Browns too. Let’s get to the full game recap. The Browns got the ball first to show off their ‘improved’ offense, but it was anything but that. RB Quinshon Judkins ran on first down for 15 yards, but a holding penalty brought it back.

A short run was followed by two off target short passes by QB Dillon Gabriel, as the Browns went three-and-out and had to punt. The Jets got the ball near their own 40 yard line to begin their first drive. The Jets then went three-and-out with just as bad of a drive, as LB Carson Schwesinger was left unblocked and drilled QB Justin Fields basically as soon as he took a snap. In a game where field position will play a factor, the Jets pinned the Browns down to the 5 yard line on their punt. A short run by Judkins was followed by a short completion to WR Jerry Jeudy, setting up 3rd-and-5. On third down, Gabriel launched a pass up the right sideline for WR Cedric Tillman.

Tillman just missed a diving one-handed catch, but the defense was flagged for pass interference to get the ball to the 40 yard line. A jet sweep to WR Malachi Corley then went for a burst of 16 yards, the second week in a row it has worked. A bootleg pass to Jeudy then went for 13 yards on a crossing route. A few plays later, facing 3rd-and-4, Gabriel scrambled 8 yards for a first down, and 5 more yards were tacked on by a defensive hold. A few plays later, a playaction fake set up TE David Njoku catching a short pass and then rumbling into the end zone for a 9 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Cleveland’s defense didn’t get a chance to capitalize.

On the ensuing kickoff, Kene Nwangwu returned it 99 yards for a touchdown to even things up at 7-7. Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns upset the Green Bay Packers 13-10 on Sunday. The Packers were considered one of the NFL's hottest teams heading into Week 3. Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins got the start and led rushing for 94 yards on 18 carries, including one touchdown. Cleveland's kicker, Andre Szmyt's 55-yard field goal sealed a three-point victory, handing Green Bay its first loss of the 2025 NFL season. After the win, Flacco explained what a win like this can do to a team like the Browns this early in the season, per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.

“Anytime you win games like that as a team, it does something for you,” Flacco said. “You have to remember how good this defense has been—they held the Lions to basically nothing. You do have to remember that side of it. So as frustrating as today was [early on], the embarrassment of it, we still held it together through the frustration and made it work. Obviously, we had things go our way, too, but that’s how football works. We didn’t do anything to make it worse, no turnovers after the first half.

“They gave us something and we were able to capitalize on it.” The Browns, who entered Sunday's game 0-2, remained scorless heading into the final frame on the wrong side of an 10-0 deficit. With 9:26 left, Cleveland had the ball at its 20 yard line. The Browns tacked on a field goal as their first points before Flacco got them down the field for their first touchdown, tying the game, 10-10, with 3:01 left to play. A major test for the Cleveland Browns as they try to change the narrative surrounding this team. With a bye week and an easier back half of the schedule, a win would have given this team serious momentum.

Instead, both sides of the ball fell flat. There were small moments of hope, but not many. New England won 32-13, and the Browns continue to fall, reaching 2-6 on the year now. Here are three takeaways from the loss. 1. Dillon Gabriel fails his “prove it” game

This was a huge game for Gabriel. The Patriots have one of the best run defenses in the league, and one of the worst secondaries. The gameplan in Cleveland was going to have to revolve around Gabriel, not Judkins. Most importantly, Gabriel was going to have to prove he could push the ball downfield, consistently hitting targets further than 10 yards away. He simply could not do that this game. The Cleveland Browns kept Sunday's divisional bout in Baltimore close for two quarters, until the dam broke in the second half.

A 10-3 game at halftime turned into a 41-17 laugher as the Ravens scored on each of their four full second-half drives, including three consecutive TDs to close out the contest. Pass rusher Myles Garrett, with 1.5 sacks in the loss, is already fed up with the Browns' futility. "I mean, this s--- is embarrassing," Garrett said, via Cleveland.com. "And we've got to be better on defense, we've got to be better as a team. "They slowly chipped away. We did a solid job holding it to three when we could.

And then eventually the dam broke and then they just did whatever they wanted, and we have to continue to play a 60-minute game."

Cleveland Browns Have A Small Win To Take Away From The Embarrassing

People Also Search

Cleveland Browns Vs. New York Jets, November 9, 2025 EAST

Football Insider Newsletter Free Trial: Take A Minute And Sign

Because Fields Was Sacked Three Times For Twelve Yards, The

The Unsettled Situation At Quarterback Has Been A Central Storyline

I Knew The Browns’ Defense Would Be Able To Stop